Angel Reese, the rising star of the Chicago Sky, recently gave her fans a glimpse into a struggle many wouldn’t expect from a top professional athlete. Despite being one of the top draft picks in the WNBA, Reese opened up in an Instagram live video about her concerns over the high cost of living in Chicago-particularly the $8,000 monthly rent she pays. Her reflection sparked a much-needed conversation about the vast wage gap between the WNBA and the NBA, revealing just how stark the difference in earnings truly is.
In the video, Reese admitted that her salary from the Sky, which amounts to roughly $73,000 for the season, doesn’t come close to covering her bills. “The WNBA doesn’t pay my bills at all,” she remarked, candidly admitting that she’s living beyond her means.
WNBA vs. NBA salaries
This level of financial pressure is unimaginable for NBA players, whose starting salaries often exceed millions in their rookie years. Reese’s struggle to afford basic expenses highlights a financial disparity that is rarely addressed but heavily felt by many WNBA athletes.
While NBA stars like Donovan Clingan, who was also a top-10 pick in 2024, will earn upwards of $6.8 million in his first year alone, Reese and her WNBA peers face a harsh reality. For them, affording a comfortable lifestyle in major cities like Chicago can seem like a pipe dream.
The average salary in the WNBA is around $150,000 per season, while in the NBA that figure is about $10 million. This salary gap is largely due to the difference in television viewership. Although the WNBA has experienced a steady increase in ratings under Cathy Engelbert’s leadership, it still does not reach a mass audience.
However, the league hopes to reverse this trend with players like Caitlin Clark, and to a lesser extent Angel Reese (LSU), Paige Bueckers (UC) and Cameron Brink (Stanford). Clark’s historic run to the NCAA finals last season captured the attention of 10 million viewers when her Iowa Hawkeyes faced Reese’s LSU Tigers.
Reese’s words didn’t just expose her personal struggles-they laid bare a system where top female athletes are forced to rely on outside income, including social media deals, to make ends meet.
This reflection has ignited a broader conversation about the gender wage gap in professional sports, where the luxury of an $8,000 monthly rent is a drop in the ocean for an NBA player but an almost unattainable expense for many in the WNBA. Reese’s bold comments not only shine a light on her own financial challenges but also push the ongoing dialogue about pay equity in sports into the spotlight.
